With no single authority to control the development of the game, a wide variety of minor rule variations came to be applied in almost every public Billiard Room. This state of affairs may have been tolerable in the early part of the 19th century, but as the game grew in popularity the necessity for a common set of rules became overwhelming. The first pressures came from amateur players and with heavy wagers becoming common, individual disputes were referred to the sporting press. By the 1870's, the Sportsman newspaper had become regarded as the main authority for settling these arguments. In some cases, a committee of leading professionals would be convened to respond to a dispute which involved a particularly heavy wager. Amongst the letters received by this newspaper came this, perhaps not too serious request for clarification of the rules of Pool :
"Sir - During a game an excitable friend of mine played out of turn, with the wrong ball, at the wrong ball, used the rest instead of his cue and at the same time made a foul by touching another ball with his arm. What ought to be done under these circumstances ?" The editor, probably suspecting the sincerity of the enquiry, responded "Have his head shaved and a strong poultice applied to the back of his head."
By 1870 it was usual to appoint a Referee for important matches, by agreement between the players. The referee, often a leading player himself, would be the arbiter in the event of a dispute. He would be seated close to the table, near the spot end, not being required to take any part in proceedings unless called upon to do so. A Marker would be employed to watch the play, call the scores and post them on the scoreboard. In addition a boy would retrieve the balls and hand the rest to the players. At this time, the non-striker was responsible for claiming fouls made by his opponent, although this role eventually fell to the Marker.
There was no standard for the size of pocket openings on the billiard table, but by general consent, most tables were made with pockets 3 5/8" wide at the fall for what became known as "ordinary" tables, although variations in most public rooms meant that pockets of 3½" and 3¼" were also commonly found.
The first specialist break-building stroke of any significance was the repeated potting of the red from the billiard spot. This was known as the "spot stroke". By 1870 the leading players were making regular century breaks by this means and as a direct result, the first attempt was made to limit scoring at billiards. This was done by the introduction of the "championship" table which had the pocket openings reduced to 3". This type of table was primarily used in professional championship matches, but also appeared in many billiard rooms, as a test for the patrons. This may also be the source of the common misconception that "billiard tables" have tighter pockets than "snooker tables".
By this time the size of ball had increased to a nominal 2 1/16" which is the current size of balls in use today. However, due to the need to turn ivories occasionally to restore their shape, an original set would usually be supplied 1/32" oversize, by way of an allowance.
Cues were generally between 55" and 59" in length and 11oz.-17oz. in weight. Ash was still the most popular wood. The diameters of tips were most common in the range of 9-12 mm, although both smaller and larger tip diameters were known. Tips had been developed to protect the wood from impact damage and were now layered, with a hard base made from shoe leather topped with softer calf cheek. One calf's head producing only enough leather to make 150 tips. The best tips were all imported from France. "Extensions" to the tip of the cue, made from ivory or horn were known in the last quarter of the 19th century. These were applied to help avoid the problem of a cue become gradually shorter due to regular re-tipping as they could be easily replaced after an unacceptable degree of wear had occurred.
In a bold innovation, Marsden & Saffley (Liverpool) started to manufacture tables with a cast iron frame and with beds of cast concrete the late 1870's. They were reputedly the "fastest table on record", but the venture failed after about 3 years, possibly due to the weight of the final construction.